Tell me a Story
by Scouse
Summary: “A story, huh?” he murmured, feigning wariness and suppressing a smirk as he did. “Well, I can’t very well tell you no story with you standin’ there like a palm tree, now can I?” SanaBaby AU future fic.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Tell me a Story

Rating: PG-13, just to be on the safe side for any mentions to Sana because you know they're too hot .

Pairing: Sana, ever so tiny mentions of Jate.

Summary: _"A story, huh?" he murmured, feigning wariness and suppressing a smirk as he did. "Well, I can't very well tell you no story with you standin' there like a palm tree, now can I?" _

Warnings: Not much, just soem references to Sana hotness .

Status of fic: WIP, there's going to be a couple of parts.

Author's Notes: My first Sana Baby fic! We never did decide upon a name for Sana Baby officially, so I'm using Luana, just til we get it decided properly then I'll change it.

Disclaimer: I own nothing Lost wise. Nor do I pretend to. Luana Ford-Cortez the Official Sana Baby of the Sanateers over at Lost Forum belongs to the Sanateers!

**Tell me a Story (part 1) **

"Papi…?" her voice was high and loud and edging ever so slightly towards becoming a whine. It sliced through his concentration and calmness, scaring it away out into the heat of the morning.

Sawyer lifted the edge of his book away from his face using his thumb as if he were tilting a Stetson in silent salute to her. He squinted, peering out of the darkness at her face, red and blotchy from tears. Her eyes were dark, almost black like her Momma's were, and her hair fell sleek and shadowy in silky curtains about an angelic face that seemed incapable of half the mischief that she usually found herself in. She had her Momma's skin too. Bronze and soft, making his own tan pale in comparison whenever he held her little hand in his.

"Whatsa matter, Pickle?" he growled out affectionately from beneath his book and he noticed the sheepish look on her perfect features. The way she scuffed one of her bare feet at the sand and wiggled her tiny toes. The way she automatically placed her thumb into her mouth and curled her forefinger across the bridge of her nose, exactly like her Momma's nose, just smaller.

She'd done something. He could tell, and she'd obviously done something _bad_ for her to be stood there before him instead of going to Ana-Lucia like she usually did in search of rescue.

"What you gone done _now_?" he asked warily, sitting up suddenly, the book falling from it's perch atop his head to the sand forgotten. "You been fightin' again, Rocky?" he demanded and the blush of embarrassment that covered her entire face told him that was exactly what she'd been doing. That was the reason that she stood in front of him then, disturbing his rest instead of stressing out her mother.

"We talked about this, Princess!" he sighed, shaking his head as he spoke. "You _know_ your Momma don't want you fightin' in case you-"

"I won't get hurt, Papi!" she interrupted swiftly in protest from around her thumb, still firmly in her mouth, second-guessing his words. "And I didn't even _start_ the fight this time, it was that stupid Christian!"

Sawyer had to swallow his protective paternal instincts then that would have seen him going and beating that damn Christian Shephard's ass, never mind that the boy was only five, the same age as the little slip of a girl before him was. Instead he cleared his throat.

"I was going to say, 'fore you went and interrupted, _Blabbermouth_," he stated in a deep throated growl that pretended annoyance. "That your Momma and me don't want you fightin' in case _you_ hurt someone!" he finished and she rolled her eyes, arms folding across her chest in a gesture so like Ana's that it gave him the shivers. "That why you've been cryin'?" he continued, a little softer, raising his eyebrows knowingly as he spoke. "'Cause you beat up on _Jack-the-Lad _and Freckles told you off again?"

Her features abandoned her scowl in favour of a trembling bottom lip and teary eyes. She nodded her dark haired head solemnly, breathing suddenly dangerously close to becoming sobs until Sawyer reached forwards and drew her into a tight embrace, tucking her face into the crook of her neck and cupping a hand over the crown of her head.

"Easy now, Pumpkin." He soothed, trying to calm her down and in the same instant attempting to scan the beach for any signs of the mother of his crying daughter so he could hand her over to the more capable parent out of the two of them. "What did that _mean_ old Aunty Kate say to you this time, huh?" he growled, more with frustration at Ana-Lucia's lack of presence than anything else, but the little girl's reply was muffled as she cried it into his shirt. No doubt wiping her tears and snot there, he thought with a grimace. "Where's your _damn_ Momma?"

She sniffed, removing her face from where she had it pressed to look up at him with a sorrowful glance.

"She's at the hatch." She murmured, pitifully. "She's gotta push the button. It's her turn."

How he had been unaware of this fact, Sawyer wasn't entirely sure. Whenever the question of hatch duty came up, they leaped at the chance, going to almost any lengths to swap shifts around with the other survivors to make sure they got their turns together and that they finally got some quality "Momma and Daddy" time (which the previous of such moments had led to them almost getting caught in a rather compromising position on the kitchen table), leaving their daughter in the capable hands of one of their neighbours. Sometimes Libby and Hurley offered to take her, sometimes Sun and Jin so that she could play with their own daughter who was a couple of months or so older than Luana Ford-Cortez was. But they always found someone and they always knew in advance when their shifts were liable to take place.

Except for this time apparently.

"No kiddin'…" he grumbled to himself, swiping tears and hair from where they were clinging to her usually dimpled cheeks. "She tell you when she'd be back?"

Luana shook her head in silent response and sniffed again. "Dunno." She mimicked his gruff southern tone. And then she paused, twiddling her fingers together and glancing down at them as she did so, as if she were slightly nervous of whatever it was she was about to say next. "Papi?" she asked, drawing the epithet out as she had at the very beginning of their conversation. "Tell me a story…just 'til she comes home." She added the final comment hastily, as if that would make him more inclined to comply.

He watched her through narrowed blue eyes, considering her as she stood before him, fidgeting. That was something else to add to the list of things she had inherited from Ana-Lucia. The ability to make a demand, spoken softly or with a sting, that he would feel compelled to comply with when always before he had only ever been concerned with pleasing himself.

"A story, huh?" he murmured, feigning wariness and suppressing a smirk as he did. "Well, I can't very well tell you no story with you standin' there like a _palm tree_, now can I?"

Luana grinned widely in triumph, tears forgotten entirely as she threw herself at him so that he barely had time to catch her.

"Easy, Tiger!" he growled settling her more calmly onto his lap. She may have been only five years old, but little Luana had the fists of a fighter, the fists of her mother actually, and he'd been on the receiving end of punches from both the women in his life too many times to retain count. "Want me to read you the bunny book again?"

She shook her head, peering up at him through ebony lashes.

"Momma said you can't tell me that story any more, 'cause it gived me nightmares." She responded, almost reprimanding him, and Sawyer rolled his eyes.

"Fine, what story?" he sighed and she fixed him with a scathing glare that left him feeling thoroughly inadequate, as she tossed her dark hair, wiping it back from where the soft strands obscured her view briefly with tiny, splayed fingers.

"A _good_ one, Daddy." She responded as if it was the most obvious thing in the entire world and perhaps it was. All kids loved a good story. It was a scientific fact.

"A good one…" her repeated, muttering it beneath his breath, raising his eyes at the canopy of palm leaves above them, currently shading them from the harsh sun's glare. "'_Course_ you want a good one. Stupid me."

**-oOo-**


	2. Chapter 2

I'm glad you all are liking this fic. W00t for Sana Baby!She makes me happy to write.

Discimer: I still own nothin'.

**Tell me a Story (part 2).**

"'_Course_ you want a good one. _Stupid_ me."

Luana giggled at his words, taking up the mantra of _'Stupid Daddy' _and chanting it until he fixed her with a silencing frown and shifted her on his lap again, demanding gruffly to know if she wanted the story or not.

"Alright then…Okay, there was this guy, who-"

Luana sighed and shook her head, glaring up at him as if she were disappointed with him somehow, causing him to pause mid sentence and glance around warily.

"What's wrong, Short-Stack?" he queried, almost hesitant to hear her answer, but she continued to shake her head, folding her arms again and half pulling out of his embrace.

"_That's_ all wrong!" she stated, narrowing dark eyes. "You don't tell it _right_ like Momma does."

And Sawyer snorted indignantly at her criticism.

"Momma _says_ this! Momma _does_ that! What about your dear old Pops, Princess? Don't _I_ count?" he replied, only partially feigning hurt, but Luana remained unmoved by his plight, turning her face away from him to glare out to sea, nose in the air.

"It's not _supposed _to start like _that_." She responded, unwavering in her judgement and eventually Sawyer gave in and asked her '_exactly how was it supposed to start then, Smarty Pants?'_

"Once upon a time, Daddy, _duh_!" she rolled her eyes at him as if he was indeed stupid and Sawyer found himself shaking his head and blaming her difficult nature upon the genes she had inherited from Ana's side of the family. She was a carbon copy of her completely. He only ever saw flashes of himself in her when she smiled that charming and disarming smile or when she wanted something. "Everybody knows _that_! Even Uncle Charlie tells stories _that_ way and he speaks funny!"

"Right." He growled slowly. "Once upon a time then, there was a handsome prince…that alright for you? Got any more _problems_ you wanna address or can I tell the damn story?" he glared down at her but she squirmed on his knee and swivelled so that she could look up into his face again. "What _now_!" he almost groaned, grinding his teeth together until his entire jaw ached.

"What's the prince's _name_?" she inquired suspiciously, resting her elbows upon his chest as she peered up through narrowed, sceptical eyes. And Sawyer almost cracked his head back into the palm tree with his frustration, making a mental note to leave the story telling up to the _'All Wonderful Ana-Lucia Wonder Mom' _from hence forth.

"I was gettin' to that, _Bossy Britches_." He knuckled one eye before scowling at her. "His name was…it was…"

"Harold!" Luana cried in joy, ignoring entirely her father's dour mood and Sawyer raise an eyebrow dubiously.

"…Harold?"

She nodded devoutly, resting her head back against his chest as if she had suddenly forgiven him for not starting the story as according to the rules.

"Harold is a pretty name." She reasoned happily. "It's what I called my pet spider…until Momma squished him…" she paused almost as if she were holding a minutes silence of remembrance for her poor, murdered pet spider, Harold, before she continued. Apparently she had also inherited her mother's ability to push all of his buttons to get the reaction that she wanted the most. "_Momma_ lets me make up _all_ the names in _her_ stories…" she allowed that comment to lie in the hot air between them, heavy and stinging for him. Oh, she was devious! Conniving and cunning. She had most definitely inherited something from him after all.

"Fine. Then." Sawyer grit out reluctantly from between his teeth. "Prince Harold was ordered by his father…" he halted and nudged her to produce a name.

"King Gordon." She supplied contentedly.

"Gordon, right." He rolled his eyes again. "To go and do some fancy-pants business in a neighbouring country across the wide sea and so he built a giant ship with his two brothers…"

"Bob and Barry."

"Bob and Barry and his young nephew…"

"Ted." She was rather pleased with herself for coming up with that last name.

"Okay, so Prince Harold and Bob, Barry and Ted were sailin' across the ocean, headin' for the land that his Daddy, King Gordon, wanted to trade and do business with. The sea was calm and the night was dark and out of no where there came an evil pirate ship, full of…evil…pirates…" he cringed at his own lack of imagination, daring a fleeting glance down at his daughter's face but she seemed content, studying him intently as he made to continue, reassured by her interest. "The Captain-"

"Captain Frank."

"Captain Frank the _Fearsome_," he elaborate and she allowed it with a brief nod of approval. "And his pilferin' crew of cut-throats attacked poor Prince Harold and his brothers. They weren't too hot on the idea of Harold tradin' with the other country, see? 'Cause it'd be bad for them, they'd have no one to sell all their stolen treasure to. So, as a warnin' they stole Bob's son, Harold's nephew, Ted, to become one of them pirates and blew up their great ship.  
"Now Prince Harold got himself injured by tryin' to rescue poor little Ted and Barry got washed away by the sea so there was only Harold and Bob clingin' to the wreckage of their once beautiful ship." He paused to take a drink of water and help Luana take a mouthful herself, holding it to her lips. She still somehow managed to spill it all down the front of her shirt, however, eliciting a chuckled exclamation of '_Mucky Pup' _from beneath her father's breath as he used the edge of his own shirt to wipe her chin clear of the water until she scrunched up her face, pushed his hands away and stood up from his lap. "What?" he demanded with a frown. "You bored already, Scrappy Doo? We ain't even got to the _good _part yet."

Luana shook her head, sending the sleek, almost black locks swinging around her face, and she took his one of his large, callused hands in both of hers, wrapping one about his little finger and one about his thumb and pulling with all her might.

"Easy, Tiger. Gonna pull my arm clean off you carry on like that." He chuckled again, doing as she wanted and standing. "What now, Genius?"

Again she fixed him with a withering glare that Ana-Lucia would have been proud of, and pointed down to the waterline where frothy white waves lapped the shore.

"Wanna paddle." She announced, pulling his fingers again. "But keep telling the story, Papi."

**-oOo-**


	3. Chapter 3

So here's part 3. w00t! I'm glad you are all liking this and I really do appreciate you taking the time to read and leave a review.

Disclaimer: DOn't own it. Luana belongs to the Sanateers though.

**Tell me a Story (part 3).**

"Wanna paddle." She announced, pulling his fingers again. "But keep telling the story, Papi."

"Yes, Your Majesty." He snorted, prizing her little fingers from where they were wrapped around his pinky like a leech and instead placing her hand in his, dwarfed by his wide palm span. Safe and secure in his grasp. "So, where was I?"

"Harold and Bob are in the sea and Barry is disappeared and Ted got stolen by Captain Frank and the pirates." She reeled off happily as they began a slow walk out into the sun, her skipping at his side.

"Sure." He mumbled. "So, Harry and Bob are floatin' round, clingin' to this piece o' wood for dear life and the blood from Harry's wound is attractin' all the sharks and sea monsters from deep, deep down on the ocean floor. All come lookin' for somethin' a bit tastier to eat than just plain old fish."

Luana stopped dead in her tracks, jerking his arm suddenly and drawing his glance over his shoulder, peering down at her curiously.

"There…there aren't no sea monsters in this sea…are there, Papi?" she queried tentatively, shooting a chary stare at the cool blue waters a mere five feet away from them now. She clasped his hand a little tighter, pressing herself against his leg nervously and Sawyer chuckled, reaching down to heft her into his arms with a hand beneath each armpit.

"I dunno, Princess. How 'bout we go ask Uncle Jin over there." He pointed to the Korean man, tossing his hand made nets out into the surf and dragging them back in onto to sand where his stock of fish was growing. "Hey Uncle Jin!" Sawyer bellowed, continuing his slow and steady stride towards his neighbour and Jin looked up from his work, standing straight from where he had been crouched down examining his catch. He smiled lightly, wiping his hands free of salt water and fish scales upon his trousers before tousling Luana's dark hair and tweaking her nose.

Sawyer tucked a strand of his daughter's sleek locks behind her ear and out of the way of her face for her.

"Go 'head then, Kitten. Ask away." He prompted but she turned her face into his neck shyly, peering at Jin through one eye only. "Come on now, don't go all shy an' embarrassed on me." Her father laughed at her actions before glancing over at his friend who smiled knowingly. "Little Lulu here wants to know, Uncle Jin, if there are any sea monsters in them there waters."

Jin raised his eyebrows.

"Sea? Monster?" he repeated, frowning in confusion and even though his English was near perfect after nearly five years of tutelage from his wife, Sun, he didn't understand the true meaning of the word until Sawyer mimed out a shark's fin and gnashing teeth. "Ah!" he exclaimed finally before muttering something in Korean as if confirming what it was to himself. "Shark!" then he turned his attention to where Luana peered at him, curious now, from where she was tucked beneath her father's chin. "No sharks here today, Luana. No sea monsters. I would have caught them by now if there were."

And something akin to relief flashed across her young face as she squirmed suddenly to be set back on her own feet and took off at a tearaway pace down to the water's edge.

"Kids, huh?" Sawyer grumbled to Jin who merely laughed and went back to disentangling his latest catch from his net.

Luan meanwhile was already splashing water about, drenching herself in the process.

"Get back to the story!" she screeched happily at the top of her little lungs as Sawyer swaggered her way tentatively, hands in pockets. Wary, for he knew from experience that a child of his in the water meant that he was liable to be getting wet!

"Calm down, Sparky!" he called, dodging a wickedly aimed splash of seawater in his direction and fixing her with a stern look and raised finger. "Now, you gonna be a good girl and come take hold my hand and listen to the story properly?"

Knee deep in the crystal clear sea, Luana froze as if considering his request fully before making an informed decision and Sawyer knew from the sly grin forming on her lips, showing off those dimples that told everyone that she was most definitely his, from the evil glint in her dark eyes, from the poise of her slight body, that her answer was going to be a 'no' and he was about to get a showering of shockingly icy awakening.

"Luana Ford…" he warned, voice a deep growl as he moved towards her agonizingly slowly.

No sudden movements. That was the key, or so Ana had told him on the many occasions that their 'beautiful' daughter had decided to lead the other island youngsters upon a mad, riotous half-hour, tearing around the beach like children possessed. But then again, Ana had been a cop prior to the crash upon the 'Bermuda Island', therefore she had no problems getting tough when she needed to. Sawyer on the other hand had never been overly fond of following the rules himself. He'd never had a Momma nor a Daddy to teach him how to be one and he'd told Ana as much too many times to keep track of, but especially when he was on the verge of being driven absolutely barking mad by the bad behaviour of a child he could not control and leaving them there on their own while he went off to live the life of a crazy hermit in the jungle.

Ana's response to him was always surprisingly positive, if a little impatient with his constant self-depreciation and threats of disappearing on her like her own father had done to her mother when Ana had been little more than Luana's age. She had little time for either.

'My dad was never around and my Mom was always working,' she'd reply in between reprimanding the leader of the 'Brat Pack' as Sawyer had taken to calling the island youngsters. 'You don't get taught how to be a good parent, you have to learn it as you go along!'

And Sawyer would roll his eyes behind her back and mumble beneath his breath that 'Yeah, don't matter if you screw up as long as you can pop out another to try again with.'

If she ever heard his response, she never acknowledged it, though sometimes he suspected she heard him quite well. But by that point her words had, more often than not, already snapped him out of his desperation.

"Luana!" he warned again, but before he could reach her and before she could splash more water and hit him dead on, something scuttled towards her beneath the shallow waves, disturbed by her splashing and the scream that left her throat was ear-piercing, resounding down the beach and drawing anxious stares from the other survivors who had previously been minding their own business and living their own lives.

"Daddy! It's a sea monster!" she screeched, reaching his side in record timing and attempting to scramble up his leg into the safety of his arms. She fisted a hand in his shirt, the other desperately reaching for one of his hands as her feet clawed at his leg, trying desperately to find a foot hold to lever herself out of the sea and the reaches of the supposed 'monster'.

Sawyer stifled a chuckled and scooped her up into his embrace, balancing her on his hip. Ana-Lucia would have cuffed him across the back of his head if she'd seen him laughing at something that so obviously had terrified her daughter and so instead he stooped, ignoring the resumed screaming as Luana found herself nearing the water again, and fishing out the little critter that had scared her so much.

"Easy, Sugar-Lump." He soothed, straightening once again and heading back to dry land. "It's only a little crab. Lookit. Lookit his little legs." He led it up between his finger and thumb for her to view but Luana only wailed more ferociously until he'd tossed it back behind them onto the sand and they watched in silence as it scuttled angrily back into the surf, leaving them alone. "You done paddlin' now, Scrappy?" he ventured finally and the little girl nodded, seemingly still traumatized by her run-in with the 'sea monster', curling her fists into his shirt as he hefted her a little higher onto his hip. "So…how about we finish up that story, huh?"

-oOo-


	4. Chapter 4

Here's part 4, yay! I'm glad you're all still liking and I really appreciate the time you take to read and review :hugs:

Disclaimer: Me? Own Lost? Hahahahahahaha! I do partially own Luana though, along with the Sanateers.

**Tell me a Story (part 4).**

"So…how about we finish that story, huh?"

Again Luana nodded in response as Sawyer began back up the beach towards their shelter intent on finding them both some dry clothes.

"Right, Harry and Bob spend a whole night of driftin' there on the wreckage of their ship, 'fraid their gonna get eaten by somethin'. 'Cept they don't and they wash up on a beach they never seen before in a strange land that neither of 'em know, so they're kinda glad to be back on dry land and yet kinda scared 'cause they ain't gotta clue where in the blazes they are." He paused to draw a breath and set his little girl down onto the warm, dry sand outside their family tent, ducking inside to retrieve one of the towels that he had pilfered from the hatch a good three years or so previously.

"What was the beach like?" Luana asked, peering in through the tarps that constituted their front door to watch as her father picked out a fresh outfit for her, cobbled together out of unclaimed garments, and absently grabbing the nearest of his own shirts that he could find.

"Whosawhat?" he responded, returning outside and drawing a giggle from her lips as he wrapped the towel about her slim frame, dwarfing her in it's terrycloth folds. "The beach?" he repeated with a grin, plonking himself down to sit before her. "Well, ain't much different than this here beach." He stated, towelling her down and helping her from her wet outfit into the clean, dry one. "It was a nice enough place 'cept they'd just been shipwrecked and Harry's head was hammerin' like a woodpecker on a tree trunk!"

Luana giggled again at his words and the images they had obviously conjured for her and waited patiently, sitting herself down cross-legged before him as he changed his own soaking shirt and hung their discarded garments on one of the trees that held their home up.

He sat down beside her finally, eyes gleaming as he began getting into his storytelling persona. He splayed his fingers wide, moving his hands in a gesture that encouraged Luana to picture the scene.

"Suddenly, while they were just getting; their breath back, lyin' on this beach, wonderin' where in the hell they are, somethin' rustled in one of the bushes. Someone was shoutin' and hollarin' and makin' a whole loada noise as if they were bein' chased by the Devil himself.

Luana made a small squeak as she gasped her breath in through a gaping mouth and shuffled a bit closer to Sawyer, so she could reach out and fist a hand into the slowly drying material of his jeans leg for reassurance.

"What was it?" she queried and Sawyer held up a finger in response, tilting his head at a jaunty angle in a wordless request for silence.

"It breaks through the trees at a breakneck pace, blurred 'cause it's runnin' so fast. Trippin' 'cause it can't run fast enough and Harry recognised who it was. It was-"

"Barry!" she squealed in shock. "Barry's alive? But I thought he got washed away in the sea?"

"Ah well," Sawyer countered, knowingly, shifting a little so that he could recline, fold his hands behind his head for a makeshift pillow and enjoy the sun as he spoke. "Barry was a lucky sonofagun. Got himself caught in another current and wash ashore a little further down from the other boys. But when he reached Harry and Bob, they noticed that he was lookin' a little beat up, more so that the see could rough him up anyways, and his hands were tied behind his back like he'd been captured by someone…" he trailed off as he felt her scoot beside him again, so that she could lean against him, back to the sun, and watch his face as he squinted his eyes against the brightness.

"Was it the pirates again? Captain Frank?" she enquired, drumming her fingertips against his chest as she wiggled a bit more to get comfy.

"Good guess, Sherlock, but nope. Them pirates were long gone with Ted in tow, but the boys had washed up on somebody's island and that somebody didn't like new people trespassin' all over their kingdom.

Now Harry and Bob didn't know none of that mind and they started tryin' to calm Barry down, who was still screamin' his head off about some other people on the island, and before they know it…BAM!" Sawyer shouted the last word, drawing a scream of shock from Luana's lips and causing her entire body to jolt with fright. "This great, huge, giant man, size of a tree, comes tearin' outta the jungle lookin' for poor old Barry. His eyes all glowin and angry and his teeth all sharp and gnashin' and with a voice loud and boomin' as thunder but-"

"Stop! Daddy! Stop, stop!" Luana demanded suddenly, banging a fist against his chest as if she were knocking on a door, to gain his attention and he cracked one sapphire eye open at her, raising his head up slightly with a questioning glance.

"Whatsa matter?"

Luana shuddered, drawing her shoulders up to her ears as tightly as she could manage.

"Stop," she repeated again, though more fearful now instead of insistent. She shook her head back and forth and squeezed her eyes securely shut. "It's too scary!"

And Sawyer held back a chuckled, propping himself up on one elbow and dragging her closer to him with his free arm curled around her middle.

"Aw, Precious," he soothed, fighting a grin of amusement once more and brushing a hand over her dark, smooth hair comfortingly. "S'only a story. Not like it's real or nothin'…" he almost laughed out loud at his own words and their irony but Luana was standing, pulling herself from his embrace and moving away. "It's just getting' to the good bit!" he called after her.

"I'm hungry." She announced, nonchalantly, changing the subject entirely and starting down at him expectantly. And Sawyer heaved a sigh, pushing himself upright with exaggerated effort.

"Hungry, huh?" he mimicked her words, shooting a glance at the position of the sun in an attempt to gauge how close it was to midday. "Well…I supposed you an' me can chow down early. Momma'll just have to eat dinner on her own for once…s'what she gets for keepin' me outta the loop." He mumbled the last part bitterly beneath his breath, still sore at her apparent desire that he not accompany her to the hatch that day to participate in more exciting things, but Luana snickered at his words anyway, even if she didn't understand what he was going on about. She slipped her tiny hand into his, once he had stood and dusted himself free from the clinging grains of sand. "Let's go see what we can rustle us up, hey, Puddin'?"

oOo

"Well hello there." The older woman's voice was warm and cheerful, with a wide smile to match as she noticed the approach of the little girl, dragging her father, who moved at such a leisurely pace that he was almost walking backwards, behind her. "And how are you today, Luana?"

The little girl in question beamed back in reply, glancing up at her father as if asking permission to run on ahead and as he shot her a wink and nodded, she dropped his hand and skipped up to great the woman who had spoken to her so kindly.

"Hi Rose. Hi Bernard. I'm good." She replied as she reached them, peering through the makeshift shelves that had been erected on the beach a long time ago to house the foodstuffs still being dropped off every month or so by mysterious means. "Daddy an' me are having a picnic!"

Rose glanced over at her husband, briefly sharing a smile before she returned her soft, dark eyes to Luana, stroking back the wisps of hair from the five year olds forehead.

"Well now, isn't that nice?" Rose chuckled.

"And he's telling me a story!" Luana continued, enthused by the idea of telling someone all her news.

"A story? Wow! Your Daddy's a real good Daddy, huh?" Rose lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper as Sawyer approached and stopped, leaning against the shelving unit beside them and nodding a greeting to Bernard. "And what story is he telling you? One with unicorns and fairies?"

Luana shook her head as Rose nudged Bernard and pointed to the many packages of food, silently telling him to parcel some up for the father and daughter.

"Nope! It's about a prince who sails away on a giant boat with his two brothers and nephew but they get shipwrecked by pirates and washed up on a beach in another land." She paused for a split second, as if considering whether or not to continue with her explanation, but she did eventually. "We just got to a real scary part with a giant who tied Barry up. But Barry escaped and now the giant's mad!"

Rose gasped and raised her hands to her face in pretend shock drawing a laugh from Luana but Bernard shot the girl's father and wary glance.

"You're telling her about what happened on the other side of the island!" he queried incredulously, but before Sawyer could growl out a response for him to mind his own business and snatch the food parcel from the old dentist's grasp, Rose's elbow caught her husband in his middle, causing him to wince and suck breath in through his teeth.

"Hush, Bernard!" she hissed, before smiling down at Luana'a curious stare. "It's a story about prince's and giants, didn't you hear? And I'll bet there's going to be a princess in it somewhere too…" her gaze flickered up to meet Sawyer's, amusement sparking in the depths of her iris' but Sawyer cleared his throat and narrowed his own eyes, ignoring the knowing and enigmatic smile that she fixed him with.

"Hey! Wanna stop givin' the game away, Mother Goose?" he drawled with a very half hearted scowl. "And she's not a princess. She's a queen actually…"

"Oh right!" Rose breathed, almost as enthusiastic as the Southerner's charge was. "Wow, but where's you Mommy, Luana? Wouldn't she like to hear the story too?"

Sawyer felt discomfort prickle at the back of his neck as he found himself their focus once more and he shifted on the spot, shoving his hands into his pockets with their food parcel wedged beneath one arm.

"Momma's at the hatch." Luana supplied sadly. "Papi says that we'll just be having lunch on our own and not wait for her 'cause she kept him out of the hoop or something."

Bernard snorted at that, from where he had taken refuge out of his wife's reach at a separate shelving unit. Rose allowed herself a full blown laugh.

"I think you mean out of the loop, Honey, and I'm sure your Momma had a good reason." She stated, defending the A.W.O.L Ana-Lucia while still chuckling to herself. "Hey, why don't you and your Daddy take some lunch to her? That was you can all have a picnic together and that way Daddy won't be out of that loop any longer, huh?"

Sawyer rolled his eyes and resisted the urge to slap his palm into his face as Luana began tugging on his arm, squealing with delight at the notion just suggested.

"Please, Daddy, please, please, can we go to the hatch and take Momma her lunch? Please? Pleeeeeeease!"

"Alright, alright! Sonofa…Knock it of already. What are you? A stuck record?" he demanded with a growl but the five year old was too busy jumping up and down excitedly to notice the bemused tone in his voice.

Rose held out an extra box of biscuits, chocolate ones, to Sawyer and he snatched them from her, securing them together with the rest of the food before muttering a sarcastic 'thanks', to which Rose responded with a superior 'You're welcome…and those are Ana's favourite cookies by the way…' as if she could see past all his bluff and bravado to the bare faced fact that he really did care and he was really glad for an excuse to make the trip to find his partner.

"Yeah, yeah. Peachy," he grumbled turning to leave. "Come on, Skippy. We better get goin' now if we wanna make it to the hatch before your Momma's shift finishes." He called and Luana followed dutifully, turning to wave 'goodbye' over her shoulder to Rose and Bernard, as they headed into the jungle on the path to the hatch.


	5. Chapter 5

Sorry it took me so long to get an update ready for you. I may go back and change this section later on as I'm not all that happy with it, but here it is anyway. Getting closer to that hatch and 'Momma Ford-Cortez', lol!

Disclaimer: Me no owny.;)

**Tell me a Story (part 5).**

They walked in silence for the first few minutes. Luana clutching the box of cookies to her chest devoutly, as if it where the Holy Grail itself, and Sawyer with their lunch gathered into a makeshift bag, made from one of his old shirts, in one hand, his daughter's hand firmly secured in his other.

The jungle path was silent save for the odd squawk of a strange, tropical bird or the chirrup of an annoying little tree frog and the padding of their own feet. His heavy in boots, hers light in a pair of sandals that they'd found in the unclaimed luggage pile in the hatch that were only a few sizes too big for her.

Luana scuffed her toes at the hard packed dirt, dragging her feet slightly to make little, earth-red clouds plume about her heels as she did.

"So, Papi…" she mused suddenly, breeching the quiet and sounding more like an interrogating police officer than Ana did. She cocked her head to one side, considering him from the corner of one eye. "What happened to Harry, Barry and Bob with that big giant chasing them?"

Sawyer glanced down at her and snorted, drawing her gaze to meet his fully.

"Oh, _now_ you wanna know?" he clicked his tongue in mock annoyance. "Now when we're traipsin' through the middle of the damn _jungle_…thought you said it was too scary, huh…? Angel-Face?" he quirked an eyebrow at her but Luana merely shrugged and grinned up at him, revealing her currently gap-toothed smile where her first wobbly baby tooth had fallen out a few days ago. Ana had kept it, unable to part with the tiny bit of bone that was part of her daughter. She now carried it in her pocket and had smacked Sawyer so hard across the back of his head that he'd been nearly blind for the rest of the day when he'd dared to laugh at her and remind her _'she had the whole rest of her daughter right before her….what'd she need a tooth for?'_

"I changed my mind…." Luana hummed lightly and nonchalantly, shaking hair strands from her view. "…And you said there was going to be a princess in it. I like princesses."

"And _I_ told _you_ she was a queen already!" Sawyer corrected with an indignant sniff. "It was her island that the boys went an' washed up on and the giant was the one who guarded her, to keep all the bad men in the world from stealin' her away."

Luana scrunched up her nose in confusion, shooting him a wary, sideways glance.

"Why did all the men want to steal her away?" she scoffed and Sawyer couldn't help but chuckle at her.

"See, Darlin', this queen was the most _beautiful_ girl ever to be seen in any of the lands. In all the _world_, actually. No one even came close to how gorgeous _she_ was and every guy wanted to marry her 'cause they fell in love with her the _minute _they clapped eyes on her."

"Wow, she must be_ really _pretty…" Luana breathed, eyes focusing on a spot in the jungle distance and taking on a faraway gleam. Perhaps she was imagining what the queen looked like. Perhaps she was likening her to her mother…the way that Sawyer was, and he felt his own mind begin to wander from the subject at hand to what he was actually going to do, with her and to her, when he swaggered into the hatch and found her there…until he suddenly became aware that Luana was still there and she was tugging on his hand with all the might she could muster to regain his attention.

"Sorry, Pumpkin, what was that?" he coughed, masking the heat that had taken up residence on his stubbled cheeks.

"I _said_…" she growled with a matching glare, drawng out her vowels in annoyance. "Why didn't she have a boyfriend if she was so beautiful?" she queried impatiently, squirming her hand from Sawyer's grasp and stooping to pick up a pebble from the ground that she deemed as _'treasure' _and stuffing it into her father's pocket. "All the most beautiful girls have boyfriends." She reasoned.

"Not all of 'em, Mini Me." Sawyer countered, suppressing a smirk as they trouped onwards.

"Momma's beautiful and you're her boyfriend." Luana argued, refusing to waver from her point of view as she leaped to avoid a tree branch in her path and using Sawyer's arm to lever herself over it.

Sawyer, however, stopped mid-stride, causing the little girl to jerk backwards slightly with the suddenness of it.

"Now you hang on one _darn_ minute!" he growled, spinning her around to face him in a whirl of sleek, almost ebony locks, and pointed a finger at her. "I ain't your Momma's damn _boyfriend_!" he scoffed at the title. Boyfriend indeed! "Who told you that? Jack? _Kate_?" he raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to answer him, silently demanding it with hands that gripped her little arms tightly.

"Uncle Charlie said you aren't really married, so you _can't_ be her husband." Luana retorted, with an obstinate frown that drew her dark eyebrows down her little forehead. She folded her arms across her chest, putting a barrier between them in the way that Ana usually did when he'd royally annoyed her. Like mother, like daughter.

"Yeah, well _'Uncle Charlie' _is talkin' outta his damn _ass_!" he snarled beneath his breath. Standing straight once more, he turned away to carry on walking, entertaining how he was going to go about strangling 'Uncle Charlie' with his own guitar strings when he returned to the beach, but Luana loosed a startled gasp, drawing his attention back to her. She slapped her hands over her mouth, staring after him with wide, horrified eyes as if he'd just sprouted a second head from his left nostril. "What?" he almost rolled his eyes.

"Daddy, you said a bad word!" she stated breathlessly from behind her palms. "Momma said you aren't allowed to say _'ass' _around me anymore or you wouldn't be getting any for a long time." she repeated her mother's words, as oblivious to their true meaning as she had been on the day that Ana had made her irate threat, knowing that such a warning was the only way she was going to get Sawyer to follow her demand. And for a brief second concern blazed within him. Ana-Lucia would hold to her ultimatum too, knowing her the way he did, never one to be swayed or seduced by his southern charm unless she _wanted _to be in the first place. And he had no doubt that his little _'angel' _of a daughter would find immense pleasure in getting her father into deep trouble, even if she didn't know how badly he was likely to suffer because of it.

But then, he reasoned, he'd been purposely left unaware of her hatch duty that morning, hence his trek through the jungle with Luana in tow, so he'd probably already done something to piss her off anyway.

He grinned down at Luana's smug face suddenly, tapping her on the nose and making her blink.

"Alright you little _snitch_, but you tattle on me an' get me in your Momma's bad books an' I'm gonna go tattle on _you_, 'cause, Precious, you just said the naughty word _too_!" and his grin widened to a full dimpled, face wide smile as he watched the realisation dawn upon the five year olds features and she blushed crimson red as she muttered a sulky 'fine' and slipped her hand back into his. Calling a truce it seemed as they finally began walking again, albeit in a stiff silence.

He dared a glance down at Luana's face as they moved and she clasped his hand a little tighter, resting her head against his arm for comfort. It was her way of forgiving him for their little fight and of saying sorry for whatever it was she'd done or said wrong. And the urge to embrace her then, looking so lost and forlorn as she did in that moment, was too powerful for him to ignore. He stooped, hooking his hands beneath her armpits and hefted her into his strong arms, smoothing a palm over her hair and holding her to him as firmly as he could.

"Never mind, huh? Lulu? How 'bout we get back to talkin' 'bout that queen. We got ourselves off of the track of the story here." he soothed and Luana nodded her consent against him, tucking her head beneath his chin.

**-oOo-**


	6. Chapter 6

Looks sheepish All I can do is apologise profusely for leaving this little ficlet for so long. But now, with FWYH done and dusted and out of the way, I'm gonna complete this fic before starting anything new. Fends away rabid plot bunnies with chair and whip

Hope you like. It's a little short this chapter. But we're getting there, slowly. just need to get back in the groove of writing it is all.

**Tell me a Story (part 6).**

"Never mind, huh? Lulu? How 'bout we get back to talkin' 'bout that queen. We got ourselves off of the track of the story here." he soothed and Luana nodded her consent against him, tucking her head beneath his chin. "So where were we?" he hummed into the muggy air of the jungle and Luana responded with a light noise of uncertainty from the back of her throat. "The queen didn't have a boyfriend 'cause she hadn't met anyone she liked the look of yet," he gazed ahead at the dusty path through the trees and undergrowth that had been worn away over the years by the countless trips to and from the hatch that people had made. "Though o'course with that damn giant protectin' her all the time, she didn't really get a chance to meet any guys and get to know 'em properly-"

Luana lifted her head from his shoulder suddenly, arms curling around Sawyer's neck as her little fingers wound their way into his smooth blonde hair and she leaned back to gain a better view of his face.

"She didn't get to go on any dates?" she queried, shocked by such a notion.

"Nope, not a one!"

"But that's no fun! How did she get presents if no one took her out on a date?"

Sawyer had to stifle a smirk at his daughter's reasoning, but instead he painted a look of devout seriousness upon his features as he replied to her.

"And why does goin' on a date mean you'll get presents? Huh? Isn't your date's company more important than presents?"

Luana wrinkled her nose and shook her head as if scolding Sawyer for his apparently wrong interpretation of what the 'dating game' was all about.

"No, Daddy!" she huffed, shaking her head slowly. "The boy always has to give the girl a present." She lectured, tapping a finger against his shoulder to punctuate each word. "A good present!" she added and rolled her eyes. "Not like the stupid one that Aaron got for me. I told him I don't like coconuts!"

Sawyer chuckled at her for a moment longer until the true meaning of his daughter's words filtered through into his brain, igniting his paternal instincts again and fanning the flames until they roared inside him.

"Aaron, huh?" he growled dangerously, narrowing his eyes and tightening his grip about Luana subconsciously. "Since when d'you like Aaron Littleton?"

Luana had apparently learned well from her mother in avoiding subjects that she didn't want to talk about and feigned nonchalance like a pro, tossing her sleek black hair over her shoulder, turning her vision away from Sawyer's suddenly murderous face. She perused the jungle before them as if she were picking out dress to wear for a party.

She sniffed, batting her long, dark eyelashes slowly.

"I don't any more," she sighed. "Since he gave me a coconut for a present on our second date." She giggled suddenly, pressing her little fingers to her mouth. "I told him Christian gives me better presents."

"Hold up there! Second da-!" Sawyer's words stuck in his throat. "Baby, you're five!"

Luana shot him a scathing glare for stating the obvious.

"Who said you could go out with that boy, huh? I know I certainly didn't! He's two years older than you!" his bewilderment turned instead into a disgruntled frown. "And Christian? I though I told you to stay away from him?" a muscle twitched in his jaw and a pulse ticked in his temple. "And didn't you beat him up today? Thought you said he was stupid too?"

"He is!" Luana responded impatiently and squirming beneath her father's scrutiny. I sure hadn't been as bad when she'd told her Momma that she liked Aaron Littleton. "He gave me a really cute tree frog called Stanley 'cause Momma squished my spider, but Christian wanted me to give him a kiss for a thank you so he could boast to Aaron and I didn't wanna so I punched him." She shrugged, perhaps feigning indifference for the Shephard boy, and then again perhaps her current distaste for him was all real.

Sawyer's teeth ground together at the mere thought of both Aaron and Christian being anywhere even remotely in his only daughter's, only child's, orbit. Sure, they were just kids…but that wouldn't last forever and little Luana Jamie Ford-Cortez was heading towards being as stunning as her Momma was. Besides, he was a guy himself after all, and he knew exactly how guys thought, especially teenage guys, which both Baby Huey and Jack the Lad were eventually going to grow into. Sooner rather than later. He almost stopped mid-stride to go and seek out the two culprits who thought that they had any right whatsoever to even look at his daughter, but Luana spoke, tossing her sleek, long hair away from her face again and saying something that put his mind at rest slightly. That made him instead feel secure enough that his mind turned back to other issues…like the one of his AWOL woman.

"Anyway, I don't like either of them anymore. Can I have a doggy like Vincent instead of a boyfriend?"

Sawyer couldn't help but laugh out loud at her words, though it was more out of relief than anything else that provoked his amusement.

"Babyface," he grinned wide, tweaking her nose and ignoring the frown that such an action and nickname drew down her brow. "Soon as we get off this damn island, you can have as many doggies as you want instead of boyfriends!"

And Luana squealed in excitement, clapping her hands together and chanting the word 'doggy' over and over again until the word began sounding strange to both of their ears and she settled for beaming up at her father instead. Her hero again. He'd obviously said the magic words and unless they were suddenly and miraculously rescued within the next few days, he wasn't that concerned that he'd actually have to keep his side of the bargain.

"So, what was I sayin' before?" he queried around his self satisfied grin and Luana, securing her arms in a loop back around his neck, proceeded to remind him.

"The queen didn't have any boyfriends 'cause the giant wouldn't let her." She summarised. "But what about Harry and Barry and Bob?"

"What about 'em, Poppet?" Sawyer chuckled at her curious ability to speak around her thumb, which she had returned to her mouth, and be entirely understandable in the same instance.

"What happened to them in the pit?"

-oOo- 


End file.
